Automatic electric water heater



Dec. l, 1953 Filed Feb. 2l, 1951 L.. I ORENZETTI AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC WATER HEATER 2 SheetgS-Sheefl l INVENTOR.

DeC- 1, 1953 1 LORENZETTI AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC WATER HEATER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 2l, 1951 M. w w m Patented Dec. 1, 1953 UNITED STATES iiATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC WATER HEATER Lorenzo Lorenzetti, Sao Paulo, Brazil Application February 21, 1951, Serial No. 212,111

3 Claims.

The objects oi this invention are improvements in electric water heater, in which the electric current is connected and disconnected automatically due to the pressure produced by the passage ci the water.

rEhe invention is perfectly illustrated in the attached drawings, wherein Figure i is a longitudinai section of the heater,

Figure 2 is a top View,

Figure 3 is a transversal section.

The heater in question consists ci a chief c5'- lindrical body i, closed at its inferior end by a bottom 2 and at its superior end by a lid 3 screwed in a flange 4, which is sol-dered to the superior part of body I itself.

In the center of lid 3 support 5 is rmly nxed; it holds internally a tubular part e provided with several orifices l, a chamiering t, a passage 9 and a retention chamber It which is controlled by the pressure nutA I I.

Around support 5, there is suspended a circular washer i2 to which the porcelain insulators I3 are fixed which hold the electric resistance Ill for the heating purpose.

To lid 3 are iiXed two electrically isolated ter minals I5 which pass` said lid and thus introduce the electric current from the exterior to the interior ofthe apparatus, arriving at the electric resistance I4 by means of the leads- It.

The inferior third of the inner part of the chief cylindrical body holds a piston li that divides said body into two chambers: a superior one I8 and an inferior one Is. Said piston may move within controllable limits with an upward or downward movement, being iirmly fixed' to a tube 2@ the end of which is provided with several orices 2l; said tube then continues closed in form of stem 22.

When piston Ii moves upwards in the inner part of the cylinder, tube 2@ slides freely and telescopically between cylinder t and support 5 until it touches charnfering s; at the same time stem 22 slides through oriiice 8 of theretention chamber, protruding from the superior part of the central heater body. In this position orifices 'I coincide with orifices 2 I.

The heater has at its lower part a water entrance 23 and an exit 24 in the cylindrical wall.

On the cylindrical heater body a structure is fixed which sustains a bipolar circuit breaker formed by two metallic leaves 25 which hold at their ends on one side the special contacts 26 for connection of the electric current, and on the other side an insulated support 2i for the spring 28.

The leaves 25 are electrically insu- (C1. Zim-81.9)

2 lated; they makek a parallel movement around shaft 29 to which they are IiXed by two screws very near those ends that hold the contacts. The leaves are connected to the terminals by means of the exible leads 3i).

The spring 2s is guidedV by the pin jointed stem 3| which moves in relation to the position of sleeve 32; the spring thus remainsl compressed between said sleeve and an insulated member 2'! which holds the ends of the leaves opposite to the contacts.

Above this circuit breaker plane 3f! is sus.-r pended by means ci the columns 33; said plane guides stern 22 by means of its central oriiice, supports the electric current entrance terminals 26 and the screws which hold the shaftr 29 around which oscillate the leaves 25. Fixed by means of the threaded columns 35 into the plane 311, there is the cross bar 36 which, besides guide ing the end of stem 22 by means of an axial orifice, compresses the end of a compensatory spiral spring :il which is wound around stem 22, the other end of said spring contacting the upper surface of. the adjustable sleeve 38; This sleeve, is xed to stern 22 by means or" a setscrew. Thev cross bar controls the tension or the. adjustable spring 3l by means oi nuts 39. The adjustable sleeve also limits the downward movement of stem 22.

rihe entire part which contains the circuit breaker is closed by means of a protective housing lIIl.

For piston i '1, a membrane may be substituted with which the same results can be obtained.

The operation of the heater is the following:

TheV water entrance 2t is connected toa pipe line or to a reservoir of Water with some pressure, and the water exit 24 is connected tol the tube' which shall conduct the hot water, or to a shower.

`0n opening a valve in the pipe line, water will pass through the apparatus, and by its pressure will force piston i'l upwards until tube 2o con.- tacts chamfering S; thus, the entire assembly fixed to the piston (members 22, 32, v38 and others) will pass from the position marked with dotted linesn in the attached drawing to that designed in full lines.

In this upward movement, stem 22 iixed to tube 2d causes spring 2S, which is compressed and guided by sleeve 32, to move the circuit breaker into the closed condition by connecting contacts 26; at the same time the compensatory spring 3l will be compressed by sleeve 38 against cross bar 36.

In this position, orices I are on the level of orifices 2 I, and water from the inferior chamber I9, after passing through the interior of tube 20, will flow through these orifices near the connected electric resistance I4, and, after being heated, will leave the apparatus through exit 24 in continuous now.

On closing the Valve, the piston will not be any more impelled by water pressure, thus permitting spring 31 which was being compressed, to release its pressure, causing sleeve 38 iixed to stem 22 and to the entire piston assembly to return to the original position marked with dotted lines in the drawing.

In order to .permit this downward movement of the piston to proceed, there is a small leakage of water in the interior of the apparatus between the two chambers I8 and I9, separated by piston I1, between the external walls of tube 20 and the inner part 6 which, as mentioned above, slide in each other freely and telescopically.

This water leakage may also be effected by means of an external tube connecting the two chambers I8 and I9 separated by the piston, or by a hole in the piston itself.

The water thus passes from the inferior chamber to the superior one, while the piston moves downward.

Returning to the original position marked with dotted lines in the drawing, sleeve 32 will have reset spring 28 into a position opposite to the anterior one, thus disconnecting the elec-- tric switch.

Based upon the above `specifications of the invention, the following are the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved automatic electric water heater comprising a chief cylindrical body provided with a lower inlet aperture and an upper outlet aperture, said cylindrical body being also provided, at the center of its upper end, with a fixed tubular support including a lower cylindrical part disposed within said cylindrical body and having a plurality of openings through the wall thereof, a movable piston disposed in said cylindrical body to divide the latter into two superimposed chambers, said piston being provided with a central tubular member disposed for sliding movement within said cylindrical part of said tubular support, the walls of said tubular member being provided with a plurality of openings disposed for registration with the openings through said cylindrical part upon upward movement of said piston in response to water pressure thereon, whereby water can pass from the lower of said pair of superimposed chambers to the upper one thereof through said registering openings.

2. An improved automatic electric water heater comprisingl a chief cylindrical body provided with a lower inlet aperture and an upper outlet aperture, said cylindrical body being also provided, at the center of its upper end, with a fixed tubular support including a lower cylindrical part disposed within said cylindrical body and having a plurality of openings through the wall thereof, a movable piston disposed in said cylindrical body to divide the latter into two superimposed chambers, said piston being provided with a central tubular member disposed for sliding movement within said cylindrical part of said tubular support, the wall of said tubular member being provided with a plurality of openings disposed for registration with the openings through the wall of said cylindrical part upon upward movement of said piston in response t0 water pressure thereon, whereby water can pass from the lower of said pair of superimposed chambers to the upper one thereof through said registering openings, said tubular member including an upper stem portion extending through said tubular support for engagement at its upper end with an electrical switch to thereby close the electrical circuit upon upward movement of said tubular member.

3. An improved automatic electric water heater comprising a chief cylindrical body provided with a lower inlet aperture and an upper outlet aperture, said cylindrical body being also provided, at the center of its upper end, with a fixed tubular support including a lower cylindrical part disposed within said cylindrical body and having a plurality of openings through the wall thereof, a movable piston disposed in said cylindrical body to divide the latter into two superimposed chambers, said piston being provided with a central tubular member disposed for sliding movement within said cylindrical part of said tubular support, the wall of said tubular member being provided with a plurality of openings disposed for registration with the openings through the wall of said cylindrical part upon upward movement of said piston in response to water pressure thereon, whereby water can pass from the lower of said pair of superimposed chambers to the upper one thereof through said registering openings, said tubular member including an upper stem portion extending through said tubular support for engagement at its upper end with an electrical switch to thereby close the electrical circuit upon upward movement of said tubular member, an adjustable compression spring positioned to engage the upper end of said stem to urge the latter downwardly, whereby the reduction of water pressure on said piston permits said spring to move the stem downwardly and thereby move said switch to open the electrical circuit.

LORENZO LORENZETTI.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 997,670 Hallberg July 11, 1911 1,340,668 Papini May 18, 1920 1,554,502 Hulse Sept. 22, 1925 1,557,682 Gazelle Oct. 20, 1925 1,569,485 Hanson Jan. 12, 1926 1,645,278 Cid Oct. 11, 1927 1,670,767 Grassi et al May 22, 1928 1,825,793 Heroy Oct, 6, 1931 2,036,117 Cante Mar. 31, 1936 

